SECTOR 2 doesn’t mean you have to be a woman to do that. Women also need training to show that women are not all the same.” Journalists on the panel noted the challenges presented in trying to get more women’s voices on programmes, in commentary, etc, but stated that efforts are being made to increase the representation of women in media. On NewsFile, for example, since January 2013, issues that have been discussed have included good governance, education, the state of the country, and other such topics. None of these topics are exclusively men’s issues, or exclusively women’s. However, throughout the year, the programme “hasn’t had even one woman appear on the show”. Deliberate efforts are being made to correct this situation. Panellists agreed that the fair representation of women in the media was not just about hearing their voices vocally, but also about bringing out the unique perspective of women on issues across the board. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 2.2 (2006: n/a; 2008: n/a; 2011: 2.5) 2.8 All media fairly represent the voices of society and its minorities in its ethnic, linguistic, religious diversity. In general, diverse voices of society are represented in the Ghanaian media. However, disabled people are, to a large extent, marginalised and left on the periphery. “The visually impaired and the vocally impaired, in fact, persons with disabilities in general, are not heard.” Additionally, some minority language groups are not fully represented, and there are misconceptions that certain language groups simply belong to one group, depending on the area in which they are spoken (e.g. in the Fanti area). With regards to religious diversity in the media, Christianity and Islam receive fair coverage, and there are “pure Christian or Muslim stations”. At the NMC AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER GHANA 2013 35